We experimentally demonstrate mid-infrared (MIR) supercontinuum (SC) generation spanning ∼2.0 to 15.1 μm in a 3 cm-long chalcogenide step-index fiber. The pump source is generated by the difference frequency generation with a pulse width of ∼170  fs, a repetition rate of ∼1000  Hz, and a wavelength range tunable from 2.4 to 11 μm. To the best of our knowledge, this is the broadest MIR SC generation observed so far in optical fibers. It facilitates fiber-based applications in sensing, medical, and biological imaging areas.

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We demonstrate supercontinuum (SC) generation in a 2.8-cm-long chalcogenide double-clad fiber (Ch-DCF). The calculated chromatic dispersion of the fundamental mode shows that the Ch-DCF has flattened chromatic dispersion, which is within −10 ± 10 ps/nm/km from 3.8 to 12.6 in the normal dispersion regime. The variation of SC spectra is investigated by changing the pump wavelength and pump peak power. The broadband SC spectra extending from 2 to 14 μm at the −40 dB level is observed when the pump wavelength of 10 μm and pump peak power of 1.3 MW. The SC generation is simulated by the scalar generalized nonlinear Schrödinger equation. The simulation results are mostly the same as the experimental results and show that the supercontinua generated in the Ch-DCF are highly coherent.

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We design and fabricate an all-solid chalcogenide microstructured optical fiber (MOF) with four rods in the cladding, in order to generate mid-infrared (MIR) dispersive waves (DWs). The high-index background is made of AsSe2 glass, and the four low-index rods are made of As2S5 glass. This MOF has two zero-dispersive wavelengths: ∼3,720 and 4,230 nm. The propagation loss is ∼1.9 dB/m at 2,000 nm, and the nonlinear coefficient is ∼4 × 103 km−1 W−1 at 3,000 nm. Using a pulse of ∼80 MHz and ∼200 fs emitted from an optical parametric oscillator as the pump source, the resulting MIR DWs are investigated at different pump wavelengths.